Mj Patneaude

Thank you all so much! I’m going to trim them down, get them in full shade, and create a greenhouse of some sort for them.

Because there are so many, I may use a clear rubber maid with a lid to create their humid environment. Has anyone ever tried this?

John- thanks for the link. This looks like a good (and fun) resource.

Hugo- I moved them to shade this morning. I wouldn’t have known they’d be fine without light. I’ll be monitoring them closely. Ty!

Ken- I am going to look for small rooted trees around the large one next time I got back. Thanks for the tip.

Thank you Phil, John, Hogo & Ken!! I really appreciate your input & hope with your help that a few of these may make it!

Thanks Phil, I’ll try these suggestions.

Hi folks!

I visited my in-laws at a new house they purchased & was delighted to find they had two massive, beautiful fig trees. I was quickly saddened to hear they were removing them, tomorrow! We don’t think similarly , so I didn’t fight it, but I did take several clippings to see if I could get the plant to live on. I realize The ideal time is late February (at least here in my 7B zone), but is there anything I can do to help these guys make it?

I cut them just below a node, at an angle & put them straight in a pot with soil. I gave them a good water when I got home & have kept them partially shaded for today.

Any tips would be much appreciated! I’d love to see these guys thrive again with a little care & time!

Thanks in advanace 😃

This is a great topic to bring up, Nicole!

I love someones idea about the puzzle pieces to make a puzzle! On that same train of thought, what about filling them with beads to collect together to string a necklace.
My Parents used to put quarters and dollar bills in a few of ours & we thought that was very exciting!

Wow, ideas galore! Thanks for everyone’s input. I really appreciate the feedback.

Everyone seems to be in agreement that growing on concrete isn’t ideal. However, I’ve studies my site extensively & this is by far the sunniest spot we’ve got. I hate to not use it! My husband and & I are young and naive (😉) so we are going to give this location a shot & will move them in the future if we want to.

The area is front of the concrete pad gets shade from a nearby tree. It also is the location of an old fire pit. We have been picking up trash on our property for two years & have a feeling the old owners may have burnt toxic things here (pressure treated wood, trash, etc.). For that reason, we would like to plant super-plants that will pull up those toxin from the soil. I’ve heard sunflowers are great at this. Eventually, I would like to plant edibles here, but am not sure how long it will take to clean the soil. Right now we’ve got crimson clover growing there & May do buckwheat next.

We’re new to this all but are having fun with it. We will indeed be jumping into experimenting with mushroom growing too! Thanks again crew! 🌱

Hey Eric, thanks so much for your input! I really like your idea about building the soil with straw & inoculated  mushrooms. I’m unfamiliar with growing mushrooms but have heard it’s fun & am interested in trying it out.

I also appreciate your point about the northern slope. You were correct in your guess that these beds are on a very subtle northern slope, but addressing it by propping it up & getting it level wasn’t even anything I considered. That should be something I can tackle before filling & am glad you mentioned it.

In the long term, I’d actually like to plant fruit trees in the soil behind these boxes. They would getting full sunshine, but be located on a Northern slope. My logic was that as long as the tops of the trees were getting sunshine, they would be good, but perhaps the soil not getting enough sunshine could be problematic?  I’ve got SO much to learn!

Thanks again Eric! I’ll be sure to update with pictures as my beds get going!

Howdy Folks! I’m a new-ish gardener seeking feedback on the orientation of my newly constructed raised garden beds in respect to the sun. I’ve gotten a lot of mixed responses & wondering what you think.

The four boxes below are currently situated with the long ends running north to south. To help illustrate this— From where I’m taking the photo, the short edge closest to me is facing south, while the other short end is facing north.

Additional info that may or may not be useful: the concrete pad is sloped to the Northeast for drainage (backside of this photo). We’re planning to put down an inch of gravel in each bed to help with drainage & keep the soil from sitting directly on top of concrete. The beds measure 190”Lx48”Wx18”H. We chose this location because of the amount of sun it gets & it’s close proximity to our house (zone one). It took us two years of living at our house to realize parking our cars here was not a good idea  & that we ought to be growing things here instead. This is where this design idea was born. We live on 10 acres of mostly wooded forest, just outside Atlanta, in zone 7b. Full sunshine is fairly hard to come by on our land.

In your opinion, does the orientation of these raised boxes matter? What do you think would be ideal, and why?

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge!